New Delhi Health Exports has claimed that the latest version of the major coronavirus in the US appears to be the deadliest as it combines the properties of both Omicron and Delta.
Scientists have asked whose version is this? Omicron family, But it spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at evading immunity and can potentially cause more severe disease.
The Omicron “subvariant” gaining ground in the US – known as BA.2.12.1 and responsible for 58% of US Covid-19 cases last week – is not affected by delta mutations alone.
Genetic variation is also present in omicron relative who dominate South Africa together, known as BA.4 and BA.5. They have the same mutation as delta, while BA.2.12.1 has one that is almost identical.
This genetic change is bad news for those who caught the original Omicron and thought they were unlikely to get COVID-19 again anytime soon.
a genetic trait that damages the back EpidemicWesley Long, a pathologist in Houston, said the past, known as “delt mutations,” allows the virus to “evade pre-existing immunity from vaccination and prior infection, especially if you were infected in the omicron wave.” ” Methodist in Texas. This is because the original Omicron strain that swept the world did not have the mutation.
Long-term laboratory data suggest that a prior infection with the original omicron is not very protective against re-infection with the new mutant, although the true risk of re-infection no matter what variant varies with each individual and situation. unique to.
In one twist, however, those previously ill from Delta may have some extra armor to ward off the new mutants. A study released by Ohio State University researchers before being reviewed by other scientists found that COVID patients in intensive care with delta infection induced antibodies to the new mutants compared to patients who caught the original omicron. were better able to neutralize.
“Omicron infection antibodies do not appear to protect well against subtypes compared to delta,” said study author Dr. Shan-Lu Liu, who co-directs the Viruses and Emerging Pathogens Program at Ohio State. .
But Liu said the level of protection against Delta infection partly depends on how long someone was sick. This is because the resistance decreases over time.
People who have become ill with Delta should not consider themselves invulnerable to the new subvariant, especially if they are unrelated, Long said. “I wouldn’t say anyone is safe.”
Scientists expect the latest powerhouse mutants to spread faster, as they are more permeable than their predecessors.
Although home testing makes it harder to track all US COVID cases, data from Johns Hopkins University shows that about 87,000 cases a day two weeks ago averaged about 107,000. And new hospital admissions of Covid-19 patients have been trending upward since mid-April, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Relief point?
Liu said the booster shots could provide stronger protection against the new mutants. In general, vaccines and prior infection can protect people from the worst consequences of COVID-19. At this point, scientists say, it is too early to know whether the rise of the new mutants in the US will lead to a significant increase in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Scientists are still trying to figure out how dangerous these new mutants are. Long said he hasn’t seen anything that answers that question for him, but Liu said emerging data points to a more serious illness. Liu said the subvariants have properties that suggest they spread more efficiently cell-to-cell.
“The virus simply hides in the cell and spreads through cell-to-cell contact,” Liu said. “It’s more scary because the virus doesn’t come out for the antibodies to work on.”
Dr Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said the new mutants certainly do not appear to be less virulent than previous versions of Omicron, and whether they are more virulent “will become clear in the coming months”.